


Our Forest

by Aristathelia



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Actual UK Plants, Compulsion, Desi Harry Potter, Dubcon if you squint, Fae Harry Potter, Fae Magic, Harry looks young, M/M, Potioneer Severus Snape, Powerhouse Harry Potter, but he really isn't, wild magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:54:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27806389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aristathelia/pseuds/Aristathelia
Summary: “Do you have nothing better to do than follow me around, boy?”
Relationships: Harry Potter/Severus Snape
Comments: 22
Kudos: 202





	1. Chapter 1

Harri watched the slim wizard move carefully through the forest. He had been following him for a while, whenever he felt him moving between the trees and gently plucking from the plants. Other humans had stomped their way through his forest, snapping branches and trampling flora with their uncoordinated bodies. He made sure they left with no wish to ever return again. But this man moved like a feline, stepping gently between the plants and ducking under branches like he knew the forest as well as Harri did. So he let this human wander into his forest whenever he felt the need. 

He was sure the man had spotted him a few times. He had felt dark eyes on him, a slight tension rippling through the man's slim frame and into the soil, like ripples of magic through the web. But, would that make him a spider and the wizard a fly? He had no intention to eat the man. He much preferred greenery to meat.    
  
“Do you have nothing better to do than follow me around, boy?” 

The man’s smooth, slightly nasal voice made him look up from where he had been studying a delicate cluster of common inkcaps. The fungi were thriving in the damp weather. He tilted his head, looking the wizard over as though he hadn’t been studying him for months.    
  
“There’s not much to do in the forest when I’m not watching the animals,” He replied, matter of fact. It was autumn. There weren’t any newborns for him to watch over, or spring plants for him to encourage. “You’re the newest thing in the forest.”   
  
The man glowered at him, his dark eyes narrowed and thin lips twisted. Maybe this wizard didn’t like being watched? But he had stepped foot in his forest. He must be aware that he was going to be monitored.    
  
“Are there no other adults for you to pester? No children to cause mayhem with?” He continued as if Harri hadn’t spoken. A small flare of irritation sent small, green sparks down to his fingers before they fizzled out. Most didn’t ignore him, especially within his own forest. But the courage of this wizard intrigued him. 

He could feel the man's magic, tightly held and more controlled than most, a swirl of bright light within his core. His own was more… free. His magic, for the most part, did whatever it wanted until he pulled it in for his own use. It danced around him, occasionally sparking or touching the flora to help them bloom.    
  
“There aren’t many allowed in this forest. Does it bother you, being watched?” He moved smoothly through the brush, closer to the man, his hands brushing gently, reverently through the leaves as he passed. The forest knew his touch and leaned into it, like an animal seeking comfort. The rains had come and cured their summer thirst, but frost was only a month away. He would have to prepare them for the cold as much as he could. 

When the man didn’t reply, and simply continued to glower, he circled him slowly. He was curious about this man, this man that took from his forest, but no more than was freely given. This man who took careful steps to avoid stepping on sprouts and animal dens. This man who not only took care in his forest, but seemed to feed the plants that he took from. Even now he could smell the fertiliser in the man's bag. He couldn’t remember a human who was so kind to his home. “You enjoy gathering plants. What do you do with them, Mr..?” 

Common politeness and social normaties had made his life a lot easier the last few decades. People freely gave their names when asked. He often gave his own. They couldn’t know it wasn’t a given name, but a chosen one. It held no power over him. 

The man gave a derisive sniff and turned from him to continue gently plucking vibrant indigo berries from a waist high bush. “I gather ingredients to make potions. You should run along home before someone snatches you.” The forest was a secluded place. If the boy was taken, no one would ever know. “It’s dangerous to be out here alone.”

“I am home.” And he had no desire to go anywhere other than his forest. It needed him. In this world of man, flora and fauna were an afterthought. “I could help you gather. You have the berries. It’s achillea millefolium and aquilegia next, right?” And then amanita muscaria and russula cyanoxantha. From there it varied depending obviously on what he needed. But those were what he always started with. “There’s a patch of aquilegia behind the big patch of ferns to the south that look healthy.” 

As he spoke, smile bright and eyes excited, he flickered in place, his excitement making him phase back and forth. Dark eyes appraised him, slim brows pinching like he was a puzzle the man just couldn’t wrap his head around. It made him happy, to be assessed the way he was. He huffed an amused sound and blinked out, transporting himself to the patch of mentioned aquilegia so he could pluck the stems. He had watched how the man worked. He had no shears like the man did, but his magic easily sliced the stems close to the root and bundled them together. He would return to this plant and feed it with his magic later, to make up for it’s loss. 

When he blinked back the wizard was gathering the last of his berries. He held out the bunch of aquilegia, smiling wide, his youthful face bright with happiness at having helped.    
  
Severus eyed the clippings, appreciating the straight cut and the healthy, undamaged leaves. They were excellent quality and would be fine ingredients for his potions. He pulled a jar from his shoulder bag and popped the lid so he could slip the bundle inside, gently tucking the leaves in like one folds a child into bed. “...The cuttings are adequate.” He wasn’t about to thank this young voyeur, whether his help was appreciated or not. He did not want to be watched. He liked his peace and quiet, thank you very much. It was hard fought for and rightfully earned. The sunny smile he got for his weak praise did not make something flutter in his chest. 

He let the boy gather with him and quietly appreciated how quickly it was completed when he had someone to gather with. But he appreciated his space. So once he had everything he needed, he bid the boy goodbye, warned him not to follow, and took a winding path home. 


	2. Chapter 2

The ingredients he had gathered with the boy lasted him almost two weeks before he decided he needed to restock. He resolutely told himself that he hadn’t been avoiding the forest and that he simply had the ingredients he needed for the potions he had to make. Ignoring, of course, that he needed hemlock for the all purpose pesticide Mr Aberlain had ordered last week. The hemlock was deeper into the forest than his more common ingredients, and much more poisonous. He grabbed his gathering gloves and satchel, hair pulled back, and erected a visor-like barrier over his face. He didn’t take any chances when it came to poisonous ingredients. It would be just his luck to die in a secluded forest from accidentally handling something wrong that could kill him. 

His small house backed onto the edge of the forest, trees surrounding the building on three sides and enshrouding his home with a mossy abyss. The trees were dense, and hard to see through, and he appreciated the privacy afforded to him by the thicket. He had his greenhouses, of course, but some plants simply thrived in their natural environment. He would rather keep them growing naturally, if he could. The quality was always worth the extra walk. 

He couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment the feeling of being watched had started. It seemed like a gradual thing, like a creeping awareness that spread from the hairs on the back of his neck to the tips of his fingers. He sighed under his breath, eyes darting from side to side, trying to catch a glimpse of the boy. And he was sure it was the same boy. He could feel the magic coming off him like a pulse of energy, or a wave of warmth that ebbed and flowed like the waves of the sea. “If you’re going to watch me, you should at least assist my gathering again,” He called into the forest, knowing the boy could hear him from wherever he was hiding. 

He was proven correct when something rustled deeper in the forest and the boy appeared before him between one blink and the next. His usual wide smile was in place, bright green eyes shining as though lit from within by a flickering flame. 

His wild magic was startling. Most wizard children found themselves producing magic without a wand, usually unprompted and in cases of high emotion or emergency. But this boy seemed to surround himself with it, to wrap himself in flickering green light. Almost like he wasn’t entirely there to begin with. It made him uncomfortable. It was almost like the boy wasn’t real, like he had conjured an ethereal brat to irritate him in his loneliness. Not that he was lonely. He simply liked his peace and space. 

“Are you gathering from the forest again? I fed the aquilegia and the patch has grown bigger.” 

The boys’ tone was proud, like a child presenting a surprise gift, as though he was searching for praise. Unfortunately for the boy, Severus was not the kind of man to give easy praise. “I do not require it this time around. The cuttings you provided me with have not yet been depleted.” 

The grin on the boys’ face barely dimmed with his dismissive tone. Instead, his body wavered until Severus could see through him. He picked his way past him and tried not to watch. It made him feel queasy. 

“I’m actually here for Hemlock. It is required for an overdue order of pesticide. It has a spray of white flowers and a tall, branching green stem.” He was sure there was a ditch further in the forest that was lined with it but he rarely headed that way unless entirely necessary. “It is poisonous, so don’t touch it.” The quiet hum of his voice met the relative silence of the forest, and when he glanced over his shoulder, he found the boy gone. He scowled at the spot the boy had occupied, then continued moving carefully through the dense packing of plants on the forest floor. 

It wasn’t a long trip to the ditch, not really, but he doubled the time it took simply by refusing to stomp through the greenery like a neanderthal. He didn’t like damaging anything in the forest if he could help it. So, when the boy popped into existence an inch to his left and sent Severus stumbling over a bush into a patch of nettles, he could feel a growl of irritation forming in his throat. His bare hands stung and itched as he pushed himself back up, face creased in a snarl. “What the  _ hell  _ do you think-”

“Hemlock! Right?” 

The spread of white flowers held towards him were indeed Hemlock, but his attention was more focused on where the boys’ uncovered hand wrapped around the thick bundle of stems. He had  _ told _ the boy that it was poisonous and to not touch it. A burning, nettle-stung hand reached for the thick gardening gloves stuffed in his pocket and worked them on. 

“It is hemlock. It is also poisonous and best not to touch with bare skin.” It wouldn’t kill the boy simply by touching it, but last he remembered children weren’t the most hygienic beings on the planet. If those fingers went in his mouth, or his eyes, it could cause issues. 

Once his own skin was covered, he took the bundle from the boy’s hands and deposited it carefully into a ziplock bag. His gloves were then cleaned with a scouring charm, and placed in his bag, along with the ziplock. 

“Here-” His tone was calm as he reached for the boys hands and cleaned them with the same charm he had used on his gloves. The skin may be a little dry for the rest of the day, but any of the risk of accidental poisoning had been removed. “You shouldn’t touch those plants without gloves. They can make you sick and sometimes affect your breathing.” If the boy would continue to help him gather, with or without his permission, then he would need to make sure that the boy was being safe. “I will bring you a pair of gloves next time.”

He wasn’t looking at his face, but he could still see the happiness on the boys face soften into something- something affectionate and caring. It startled him enough to turn away, his hands wiping awkwardly down his buttoned jacket. He had looked older than his physical age of eighteen in that moment, the softness seeming adoring and like that of a lover. But children didn’t look at people like that. He must have seen it wrong. It had only been in his peripheral, really, and could have easily been a trick of the light.

“Sir? Are there any other plants you need me to collect?”

Instead of answering the boy, he asked a question of his own. “Do you have a name you would prefer for me to call you?” He tried to tell himself it was simply easier than calling him  _ boy _ . It wasn’t like he intended to get to know the boy beyond his aid in gathering, but the boy had aided him enough that he could call him something less infantilising. 

Sparks danced over bronze skin as a flush bloomed across the boys cheeks. His wide, boyish grins before were nothing compared to the sunny beam dimpling his cheeks now. “Harri! You can call me Harri.” His voice was almost radiant with pleasure and Severus had to will down the heat kissing his own cheeks pink. The boy sounded excited to share his name with him. Maybe Harri simply didn’t have many friends?

“What can I call you, Sir? Can I call you a name, too?”

A glance at the boys’ face made his chest fill with warmth and constrict uncomfortably. No one should be that excited to learn his name. Severus was a grumpy hermit who only cared about brewing. He wasn’t that interesting. But, he guessed, the boy had a name, so Severus should supply his own, too. 

“Snape. Just Snape.”

Harri released a sound between a squeal of delight and a squeak of happiness. “Make sure to come back and see me again, _Just Snape_. As soon as you want. I can help you gather again.” 

Severus’s eyes were still fixed on Harri’s bright face as he spoke. Specifically, his eerily glowing green eyes. He nodded in reply to Harri’s comment, finding himself leaning forward to count the specks of gold around the pupil, like he was being pulled in.

It took the patter of fresh rain across his forehead for Severus to pull himself out of it, a kind of dizziness overtaking him once he dragged his gaze away. “I will likely be back in a few days.” If the new rain had calmed by then. 

...He returned to the forest the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will update sporadically. Motivation is a fleeting thing right now, and I've never been good at catching things.


End file.
